Adherence by Staphylococcus intermedius to canine keratinocytes in atopic dermatitis

The adherence of Staphylococcus intermedius to canine keratinocytes in norm al dogs was compared to that in dogs suffering from atopic dermatitis, prim ary seborrhoea and bacterial pyoderma. Statistically significant greater ad herence by S. intermedius to keratinocytes occurred in atopic dogs and dogs suffering from pyoderma when compared with the normal group (P < 0.01) and dogs suffering from primary seborrhoea (P < 0.05). This is similar to the results of a study of human atopic dermatitis by Cole and Silverberg (1986) who demonstrated increased adherence by S. aureus to keratinocytes from at opic dermatitis patients when compared with adherence to keratinocytes in a variety of non-atopic dermatoses. This increased adherence by pathogenic s taphylococci to keratinocytes may in part explain the high incidence of sta phylococcal pyoderma seen in both canine and human patients suffering from atopic dermatitis.